73 Notable alumni of Montana State University
Updated: June 13, 2026 EliteDegrees
Montana State University is ranked #482 in the world and #153 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 73 notable alumni from Montana State University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Montana State University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Odette L. Shotwell
1922-1998 (aged 76)
chemist
Odette Louise Shotwell, Ph.D. was an organic chemist known for her contributions to natural products chemistry of antibiotics and insecticides.
2. Michael P. Holland
1964-. (aged 62)
military officer
Michael Paul Holland is a retired United States Navy rear admiral who most recently served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Northern Command. Previously, he was the Director of Programming of the United States Navy. Holland earned a bachelor's degree from Montana State University in 1987.
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3. Patrick S. Druckenmiller
researcher
curator
university teacher
paleontologist
Patrick Scott Druckenmiller is a Mesozoic paleontologist, taxonomist, associate professor of geology, Earth Sciences curator, and museum director of the University of Alaska Museum of the North, where he oversees the largest single collection of Alaskan invertebrate and vertebrate fossils. He has published work on plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mastodons, and dinosaurs in the United States, Svalbard, and Canada. He has co-authored...
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4. Brick Breeden
1904-1977 (aged 73)
basketball player
basketball coach
politician
John William "Brick" Breeden was a college basketball coach and player. He was a player from 1926 to 1929, and the head coach at Montana State College (now University) in Bozeman from 1935 to 1954.
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5. Geoffrey C. Smith
1961-. (aged 65)
sculptor
Geoffrey C. Smith is an American bronze sculptor and photographer. He is a graduate of Montana State University, and currently resides in the coastal town of Stuart, Florida. His best-known work is that of the "Stuart Sailfish," an 18-foot monument situated in Downtown Stuart.
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6. Frank Ward
1904-1980 (aged 76)
basketball player
Frank Whitney Ward was an American basketball player who is best known for playing on the dominant teams of Montana State in the late 1920s. Ward, a 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) center, played for coach G. Ott Romney, a man credited with implementing the fast break style of play in basketball. Montana State won three conference championships during...
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7. Ann Linnea Sandberg
1938-2009 (aged 71)
biologist
immunologist
Ann Linnea Sandberg was an American immunologist and the acting director of the Center for Integrative Craniofacial Research at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). Previously, Sandberg was a lab chief and researcher for 23 years in the NIH Intramural Research Program at NIDCR.
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8. Fred Bennion
1884-1960 (aged 76)
basketball coach
Fred W. Bennion was an American football player and coach of football, basketball and baseball. He served as the head football coach at the University of Utah from 1910 to 1913 and at the Agricultural College of the State of Montana—now Montana State University—from 1914 to 1917, compiling a career college football record of 27–15–8. Bennion was also the head...
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9. Trista Vick-Majors
microbial ecologist
Trista Vick-Majors is an American Assistant Professor in Biological Sciences at Michigan Tech. She is an Antarctic biogeochemist and microbial ecologist, best known for her work showing that microorganisms are present under the Antarctic ice sheet.
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10. Cristian Soratos
1992-. (aged 34)
middle-distance runner
Cristian Soratos is an American professional middle-distance runner. Born in Salinas, California, he first took up competitive running at Salinas High School. He then ran at Hartnell College where he eventually became All-State, after which he was recruited to Montana State University. After running several races at high altitude, Soratos ran his first sub-4 minute mile in 2015, and went...
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11. Washington J. McCormick
1884-1949 (aged 65)
lawyer
politician
Washington Jay McCormick, Jr. was a U.S. representative from Montana.
12. Jim Huffman
1945-. (aged 81)
lawyer
James L. Huffman is a former professor of law and the former dean of Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. He was the Republican nominee in the 2010 U.S. Senate election in Oregon, losing to incumbent Democrat Ron Wyden.
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13. Richard F. Cebull
1944-. (aged 82)
lawyer
judge
Richard Frank Cebull is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana.
14. Bill Cadman
1960-. (aged 66)
politician
Bill Lee Cadman is an American politician who is a former Colorado state legislator. First elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2000, Cadman was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Colorado Senate in 2007. Later, he represented Senate District 12, which covers rural Colorado Springs, Fort Carson, Security-Widefield, Cimarron Hills, and Cheyenne Mountain.
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15. Wally McRae
1936-2025 (aged 89)
cowboy
poet
philosopher
Wallace Donald McRae was an American rancher, cowboy, cowboy poet and philosopher. He ran the 30,000-acre (120 km) Rocker Six Cattle Co. ranch on Rosebud Creek, south of Rosebud, Montana.
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16. Adrián Zamora
1986-. (aged 40)
basketball player
Rodrigo Adrián Zamora Fernández is an American-born Mexican former basketball player.
17. LeRoy H. Anderson
1906-1991 (aged 85)
politician
LeRoy Hagen Anderson was a U.S. representative from Montana.
18. Timothy M. Swager
1961-. (aged 65)
researcher
chemist
Timothy M. Swager is an American Scientist and the John D. MacArthur Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research is at the interface of chemistry and materials science, with specific interests in carbon nanomaterials, polymers, and liquid crystals. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and...
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19. Femi Odugbemi
1963-. (aged 63)
screenwriter
film director
cinematographer
film producer
photographer
Femi Odugbemi is a Nigerian writer, filmmaker, television producer and the founder and executive producer of Zuri24 Media, a content production company in Lagos, Nigeria.
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20. Jennifer Lauck
1963-. (aged 63)
journalist
Jennifer Lauck is an American fiction and non-fiction author, essayist, speaker and writing instructor. She is the author of four books including the New York Times best seller Blackbird. Her writing has been published in the U.S. and around the world and translated into several languages. Much of her popularity began when she appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show in...
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21. Tyler Hall
1997-. (aged 29)
basketball player
Tyler Jordan Hall is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Texas Legends of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Montana State Bobcats.
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22. Deia Schlosberg
film producer
Deia Schlosberg is an American documentary filmmaker and producer. She is the recipient of one Emmy and two Student Emmys. Her October 2016 arrest while filming an anti-fossil fuel protest in North Dakota led to a viral #freedeia social media campaign and an open letter to President Barack Obama co-signed by 30 celebrities. The arrest and subsequent charges put Deia...
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23. David Huizenga
civil servant
David G. Huizenga is an American civil servant who serves as the associate principal deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, and was the acting United States secretary of energy.
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24. Johanna Talihärm
1993-. (aged 33)
biathlete
cross-country skier
Johanna Talihärm is an Estonian biathlete. She competed at the Biathlon World Championships 2013, and at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. She represented Estonia at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
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25. Paul E. Funk
1940-. (aged 86)
military officer
Paul Edward Funk is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as Commanding General, III Corps from 1993 to 1995. He is also the father of Paul E. Funk II. He was previously Commanding General, U.S. Army Armor Center and Fort Knox from 1992 to 1993 and Commanding General, 3rd Armored Division during the Gulf War from 1990...
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26. Zales Ecton
1898-1961 (aged 63)
husbandry worker
politician
Zales Nelson Ecton was an American attorney and Republican politician from Montana who represented the state in the United States Senate, serving from 1947 to 1953.
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27. Manchester Boddy
1891-1967 (aged 76)
publisher
Elias Manchester Boddy was an American newspaper publisher. He rose from poverty to become the publisher of a major California newspaper and a candidate for Congress. His estate, Descanso Gardens, was deeded to the County of Los Angeles in 1953 as a floral park.
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28. Patrick M. Hughes
1942-2024 (aged 82)
military officer
Patrick M. Hughes was a United States Army officer who served as the 12th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Previously, he was Director of Intelligence for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1994 to 1996 and the Director of Intelligence at United States Central Command from 1992 to 1994. He was the Commanding General, United States Army...
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29. Lance Deal
1961-. (aged 65)
hammer thrower
athletics competitor
Lance Earl Deal is a former American athlete who won a silver medal in the hammer throw in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He also competed in the 1988, 1992, and 2000 Summer Olympics.
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30. Dane Fletcher
1986-. (aged 40)
American football player
Dane Fletcher is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Montana State Bobcats, and was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2010. Fletcher also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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31. Loren Acton
1936-. (aged 90)
university teacher
astronaut
physicist
Loren Wilber Acton is an American physicist who flew on Space Shuttle mission STS-51-F as a Payload Specialist for the Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory. He is also the father of Cheryll Glotfelty, a leading ecocritic.
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32. Wendy Red Star
1981-. (aged 45)
creator
lecturer
artist
sculptor
multimedia artist
Wendy Red Star is an Apsáalooke contemporary multimedia artist born in Billings, Montana, in the United States. Her humorous approach and use of Native American images from traditional media draw the viewer into her work, while also confronting romanticized representations. She juxtaposes popular depictions of Native Americans with authentic cultural and gender identities. Her work has been described as "funny,...
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33. Howard Lyman
1938-. (aged 88)
essayist
Howard F. Lyman is an American farmer and animal rights activist known for promoting vegan nutrition and organic farming. In 1997 he was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award for his leadership in the animal rights movement.
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34. Nada Bakos
1969-. (aged 57)
intelligence analyst
Nada Glass Bakos is an American former Central Intelligence Agency analyst and targeting officer who was involved in a number of notable counterterrorism operations during her career. She was part of a group of CIA analysts studying Al Qaeda and its leader, as portrayed in the 2013 HBO documentary, Manhunt: The Search for Bin Laden. She also served as the...
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35. Troy Andersen
1999-. (aged 27)
American football player
Troy Andersen is an American professional football linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Montana State Bobcats where previously played quarterback, running back and fullback for them before moving to linebacker. He was named a FCS All-American and the Big Sky Conference defensive player of the year in 2021.
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36. Travis Lulay
1983-. (aged 43)
Canadian football player
American football player
Travis Lulay is an American former professional football quarterback who played for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 2009 to 2018. In his first season as a full-time starter, Lulay won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award in 2011 and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2011 Grey Cup. He played college football for...
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37. Lawrence VanDyke
1972-. (aged 54)
lawyer
Lawrence James Christopher VanDyke is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit since 2020. He previously served as the solicitor general of Nevada from 2015 to 2019 and of Montana from 2013 to 2014.
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38. Peter Voulkos
1924-2002 (aged 78)
ceramicist
painter
sculptor
artist
Peter Voulkos was an American artist of Greek descent. He is known for his abstract expressionist ceramic sculptures, which crossed the traditional divide between ceramic crafts and fine art. He established the ceramics department at the Los Angeles County Art Institute and at UC Berkeley.
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39. Dakota Prukop
1993-. (aged 33)
Canadian football player
American football player
Dakota Prukop is an American former professional football quarterback and coach. He played college football for Montana State from 2013 to 2015 and for Oregon in 2016. Prukop was a member of the Toronto Argonauts, Calgary Stampeders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, New Jersey Generals, BC Lions, and Edmonton Elks.
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40. Brian Schweitzer
1955-. (aged 71)
farmer
businessperson
politician
Brian David Schweitzer is an American farmer and politician who served as the 23rd governor of Montana from 2005 to 2013. Schweitzer served for a time as chair of the Western Governors Association as well as the Democratic Governors Association. He also served as President of the Council of State Governments.
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41. Paul E. Funk II
1960-. (aged 66)
military personnel
Paul Edward Funk II is a retired four-star general in the United States Army who last served as the commanding officer of the Army Training and Doctrine Command. He previously served as the 60th Commanding General of III Corps and Fort Hood, Texas, and as the Commanding General, Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve. Funk was born at...
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42. Maurice Hilleman
1919-2005 (aged 86)
microbiologist
Maurice Ralph Hilleman was a leading American microbiologist who specialized in vaccinology and developed over 40 vaccines, an unparalleled record of productivity. According to one estimate, his vaccines save nearly eight million lives each year. He has been described as one of the most influential vaccinologists ever. He has been called the "father of modern vaccines". Robert Gallo called Hilleman...
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43. Jan Stenerud
1942-. (aged 84)
American football player
Jan Stenerud is a Norwegian-American former professional football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs. The first Norwegian NFL player, he played college football for the Montana State Bobcats and earned All-American honors. Stenerud began his career in the AFL after being selected by...
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44. Steve Daines
1962-. (aged 64)
businessperson
politician
Steven David Daines is an American politician and former corporate executive serving as the senior United States senator from Montana, a seat he has held since 2015. He is the first Republican Class II senator from Montana in 102 years. Daines represented Montana's at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2015.
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45. Casey Anderson
1975-. (aged 51)
naturalist
Casey Anderson is an American filmmaker, wildlife naturalist, and television presenter known for translating human relationships with the natural world and wild animals to various audiences. He has been a host and executive producer of the Nat Geo WILD channel television series, Expedition Wild and America the Wild with Casey Anderson, and for raising Brutus the Bear, a grizzly bear...
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46. Dennis Erickson
1947-. (aged 79)
American football coach
American football player
Dennis Brian Erickson is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach for the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) league. He was also the head coach at the University of Idaho (1982–1985, 2006), the University of Wyoming (1986), Washington State University (1987–1988), the University of Miami (1989–1994), Oregon State University (1999–2002),...
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47. Sarah Vowell
1969-. (aged 57)
writer
voice actor
journalist
actor
Sarah Jane Vowell is an American historian, writer, journalist, radio personality, social commentator, and actress. She has written seven nonfiction books on American history and culture. Vowell was a contributing editor for the radio program This American Life on Public Radio International from 1996 to 2008, where she produced commentaries and documentaries. She was the voice of Violet Parr in...
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48. Lincoln Chafee
1953-. (aged 73)
politician
Lincoln Davenport Chafee is an American politician who served as the 74th governor of Rhode Island from 2011 to 2015 and as United States Senator from 1999 to 2007. Previously, he served as mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island from 1993 to 1999. A member of the Libertarian Party since 2019, he previously was a Republican until 2007, an independent from...
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49. Craig Kilborn
1962-. (aged 64)
screenwriter
television presenter
television actor
basketball player
actor
Craig Lawrence Kilborn is an American television host, actor, comedian, and sports commentator. Kilborn began a career in sports broadcasting in the late 1980s, leading to an anchoring position at ESPN's SportsCenter from 1993 to 1996. He was later the first host of The Daily Show, which he hosted from 1996 to 1998, and succeeded Tom Snyder on CBS' The...
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50. John W. Bonner
1902-1970 (aged 68)
lawyer
judge
John Woodrow Bonner was an American politician who served as the 13th Governor of Montana from January 3, 1949, to January 4, 1953. He was the first governor of Montana to be born in the 20th century.
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51. Ron Marlenee
1935-2020 (aged 85)
politician
Ronald Charles Marlenee was an American Republican politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from the U.S. state of Montana from January 3, 1977, to January 3, 1993. He represented Montana's 2nd congressional district.
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52. James R. Browning
1918-2012 (aged 94)
lawyer
judge
James Robert Browning was an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
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53. Reagan Wilson
1947-. (aged 79)
Playboy Playmate
actor
film actor
Reagan Diana Wilson is an American model and actress who was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its October 1967 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Ron Vogel.
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54. Denise Juneau
1967-. (aged 59)
politician
Denise Juneau is an American attorney, educator, and politician from the U.S. state of Montana who served as the state's Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2009 to 2017. She is a Democrat and the first female Native American elected to statewide office in the United States. Her mother is Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara, while her father is Blackfoot.
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55. Lee Metcalf
1911-1978 (aged 67)
lawyer
judge
politician
Lee Warren Metcalf was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. representative (1953–1961) and a U.S. senator (1961–1978) from Montana. He was the first of Montana's U.S. senators to be born in the state, and was permanent acting president pro tempore of the Senate, the only one to hold that...
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56. Sidney Runyan Thomas
1953-. (aged 73)
judge
Sidney Runyan Thomas is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a senior U.S. circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit since 1996. He served as the Ninth Circuit's chief judge from 2014 to 2021. His chambers are located in Billings, Montana.
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57. Swede Vejtasa
1914-2013 (aged 99)
fighter pilot
Stanley Winfield "Swede" Vejtasa was a United States Navy career officer and World War II flying ace. During the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, he was credited with downing seven Japanese aircraft in one mission, becoming an "ace in a day".
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58. John Dahl
1956-. (aged 70)
screenwriter
film director
director
television director
John Dahl is an American film and television director and writer, best known for his work in the neo-noir genre.
59. Mike Mansfield
1903-2001 (aged 98)
diplomat
university teacher
miner
politician
Michael Joseph Mansfield was an American Democratic Party politician and diplomat who represented Montana in the United States House of Representatives from 1943 to 1953 and United States Senate from 1953 to 1977. As the leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus from 1961 to 1977, Mansfield shepherded Great Society programs through the Senate; his tenure of exactly sixteen years was...
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60. Charles E. Erdmann
1946-. (aged 80)
judge
military officer
Charles Edgar "Chip" Erdmann is a Senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. His term began on October 15, 2002, and expired on July 31, 2017.
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61. Allan J. McDonald
1937-2021 (aged 84)
chemical engineer
engineer
Allan James McDonald was an American engineer, aerospace consultant, author and the director of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor Project for Morton-Thiokol, a NASA subcontractor. In January 1986, he refused to sign off on a launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger which then broke apart 73 seconds into flight; all seven astronauts on board were killed. McDonald had told...
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62. Joseph P. Monaghan
1906-1985 (aged 79)
lawyer
politician
Joseph Patrick Monaghan of Butte, Montana was a U.S. representative from Montana from 1933 to 1937. He was a Democrat. In 1936 he decided not to run for reelection and instead challenged Democratic incumbent United States senator James E. Murray in the Democratic primary. When Murray won, Monaghan ran in the general election as an independent. Murray soundly defeated Monaghan...
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63. Greg Gianforte
1961-. (aged 65)
business executive
engineer
businessperson
politician
Gregory Richard Gianforte is an American politician, businessman, and software engineer serving as the 25th governor of Montana since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Gianforte served as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional district from 2017 to 2021.
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64. Jennifer Graylock
fashion photographer
photojournalist
journalist
photographer
Jennifer Graylock is an American fashion and entertainment photographer. Her work has been published in Vogue, Glamour, Us Weekly, People, TV Guide, and InStyle. In 2017, she won the Timothy White Award for Photography at the Hollywood Beauty Awards.
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65. Kristina Curry Rogers
1974-. (aged 52)
paleontologist
researcher
Kristina "Kristi" Curry Rogers is an American vertebrate paleontologist and a professor in Biology and Geology at Macalester College. Her research focuses on questions of dinosaur paleobiology, bone histology, growth, and evolution, especially in a subgroup of sauropods called Titanosauria. She has named two dinosaur species from Madagascar, Rapetosaurus, the most complete Cretaceous sauropod and titanosaur found to date, and...
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66. Alvin Jaeger
1943-. (aged 83)
politician
Alvin A. Jaeger is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the Secretary of State of North Dakota from 1993 to 2023. Jaeger was elected to the office in 1992, and re-elected in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018.
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67. Jill A. Mikucki
microbiologist
Jill Ann Mikucki is an American microbiologist, educator and Antarctic researcher, best known for her work at Blood Falls demonstrating that microbes can grow below ice in the absence of sunlight. She is a leader of international teams studying ecosystems under the ice.
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68. Christopher Langan
1952-. (aged 74)
husbandry worker
bouncer
writer
Christopher Michael Langan is an American horse rancher and former bar bouncer, known for scoring highly on an IQ test that gained him entry to a high-IQ society and for being formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records high IQ section under the pseudonym of Eric Hart, alongside Marilyn vos Savant and Keith Raniere. The record was discontinued in...
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69. Kevin Connolly
1985-. (aged 41)
photographer
Kevin Connolly is an American actor and director. He is best known for his role as Eric Murphy in the HBO series Entourage, and his role as the eldest son Ryan Malloy in the 1990s television sitcom Unhappily Ever After. Connolly is also a director, having directed many television episodes as well as the films Gardener of Eden, Dear Eleanor,...
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70. Chet Huntley
1911-1974 (aged 63)
news presenter
journalist
television presenter
actor
Chester Robert Huntley was an American television newscaster, best known for co-anchoring NBC's evening news program, The Huntley–Brinkley Report, for 14 years beginning in 1956.
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71. Peter Liversidge
1973-. (aged 53)
installation artist
painter
sculptor
Peter Liversidge is a British contemporary artist notable for his diverse artistic practice and use of proposals.
72. Segenet Kelemu
1957-. (aged 69)
botanist
Segenet Kelemu is an Ethiopian scientist, noted for her research as a molecular plant pathologist and her outstanding scientific leadership. For close to three decades, Segenet and her team's research has contributed to addressing agricultural constraints in Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America.
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73. Rodney Hide
1956-. (aged 70)
politician
Rodney Philip Hide QSO is a former New Zealand politician of the ACT New Zealand party. Hide was a Member of Parliament for ACT from 1996 until 2011, was ACT's leader between 2004 and 2011, and represented the Epsom constituency from 2005 to 2011. In the Fifth National Government, Hide was Minister of Local Government, Associate Minister of Commerce and...
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